What a difference one year can make.
Remember about this same time last year when City Council member Bill Bishop was the newly elected president of the 19-member legislative body?
Like his predecessors, Bishop announced his Council committee assignments before being sworn in as president.
Initially, Bishop appointed white members to be chairs of the five standing committees, notwithstanding the experience, talents and sensitivities of the Council's five African-American members.
That was eventually remedied, in part, when Bishop split the Recreation, Community Development, Public Health and Safety Committee into two committees and named Council member Kimberly Daniels as chair of the Public Health and Safety Committee.
Council President-elect Bill Gulliford let it be known early he intended to have an inclusive committee structure and membership — a commitment evidenced by his committee assignments that were announced last week.
There are several aspects of Gulliford's assignments that stand out.
First, he named Council member Warren Jones, an African-American and longtime Council member, chair of the important Rules Committee. Jones has more than 20 years of Council experience and has twice been elected president.
The committee controls the status and flow of bills for Council action.
Naming Jones as chair was not just smart because he is an African-American. It was smart because Jones is experienced, knowledgeable and diplomatic.
Even when he speaks out on an issue — as he did over the discrepancy last year when Bishop bypassed the black members for chair roles — Jones is the consummate peacemaker.
I also found it interesting — and wise — that Gulliford expanded the membership of the Finance Committee from seven members to nine members.
Mayor Alvin Brown helped tee it up by sending a pair of draft budget proposals to Council with very different deficit numbers.
Both drafts hinge on what the Council does or doesn't do about the mayor's proposed public safety pension agreement.
If truly balanced, Brown's pension reform package would mean a projected deficit for next year of just under $19 million. The second proposal, without pension reform, has a projected deficit of almost $64 million.
Last week, the Jacksonville Civic Council turned up the heat even more when its chair, Steve Halverson, sent a letter to Brown and Gulliford stating the Civic Council encourages Council to reject Brown's pension proposal.
Although saying the mayor's work should be commended, Halverson said the Civic Council viewed it as not enough.
Among the nine Finance Committee members appointed by Gulliford are two former Council presidents, Richard Clark and Stephen Joost, who is the committee's vice chair.
Also on the committee are this year's Finance Committee chair, John Crescimbini, and Council Vice President-elect Clay Yarborough.
The committee has two African-American members, Reggie Brown and Johnny Gaffney.
When I think about how the mayor seems to go out of his way to ignore the Council — which Gulliford and others have criticized — and then look at the upcoming budget battle, I think Gulliford has created a big fist.
With nine instead of seven, if the Finance Committee members can somehow come to similar conclusions and decisions during the budget deliberations, it requires just one more vote to reach 10 votes needed for any Council action.
And, Gulliford, who would be expected to support his Finance Committee, can always be vote No. 10.
Every budget season is normally contentious and this summer's is setting up to be very hot.
I'll bet the late Judge Bill Durden is rolling over in his grave as he watches Council members take aim at City General Counsel Cindy Laquidara.
Durden was the City's first general counsel under Consolidation after being appointed by Mayor Hans Tanzler.
Durden set the bar for excellence and service as the government's top lawyer.
Like Laquidara and every general counsel since, Durden had to balance Council concerns that a lawyer hired by the mayor might shortchange the legislative branch.
It's not unusual for mayors to think about the general counsel as "their lawyer."
After Durden retired, Tanzler hired Jim Rinaman, Harry Shorstein and Ed Austin to be general counsels during his 13 years as mayor. Each choice was confirmed by the Council.
Mayor Jake Godbold tapped County Judge Dawson McQuaig, who became the only general counsel to run into trouble with the law.
After Godbold, Mayor Tommy Hazouri changed the City Charter to create a committee of lawyers that recommends a slate of attorneys for the mayor's consideration as general counsel.
Judge Jim Harrison was the first general counsel named by Hazouri under the new structure.
Even with the Charter-required committee of lawyers, Mayor Ed Austin managed to name his young protégé, John Delaney, as the top City attorney.
When Delaney was mayor, the committee recommended Rick Mullaney, Delaney's long-time buddy and adviser, for his general counsel.
Mayor John Peyton then kept Mullaney, who was followed by Laquidara.
There's no doubt Laquidara has plenty of attorney power from her office assigned to Council business. And, it certainly appears she is personally engaged in Council issues.
But, when you have a Council that already believes the mayor ignores it, there is little wonder some Council members might think the lawyer hired by that same mayor also is less than attentive.
Council member Matt Schellenberg has been out front in jumping on Laquidara's service to the Council, even drafting legislation for her resignation.
Schellenberg now wants to find out why Charter rules weren't followed when Laquidara was first appointed by Peyton in 2010 and then reappointed by Brown in 2011.
This Council confirmed her.
Schellenberg and other Council members, feeling slighted by Laquidara, are ruffling their feathers.
But, I suspect this is more about Brown than it is about Laquidara.
She might just be a convenient means to a political message aimed at the mayor.
The breeze blowing through Downtown has not subsided. In fact, it seems to be growing stronger.
Recently, the good news includes:
• The announcement the Laura Street Trio and Barnett Bank buildings will be renovated.
• The Downtown Investment Authority board has selected a CEO and is counting on Aundra Wallace, executive director of the Detroit Land Bank Authority, to bring leadership and direction.
• The Jessie Ball duPont Fund has closed on the purchase of the former Haydon Burns Public Library and is moving forward on its plans to convert the iconic building into a philanthropic and nonprofit center.
• C2C Solutions announced it is moving 200 people from its Riverside and Southside offices to the sixth floor of EverBank Center on West Bay Street.
• Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan says he is interested in purchasing the Shipyards property on the Northbank from the City. Khan says he has a vision for turning the property into a commercial and residential jewel.
• The JEA said Khan's interest for the Shipyards property has sparked new interest from developers in the JEA's 42-acre parcel on the Southbank, site of the old Southside Generating Station.
Now, if we can figure out how to move the Duval County School Board off its Southbank riverfront location to free up that space for development, we'll really have something to talk about.
That may not be as difficult as many might think.
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